TRAIN journeys between Camberley and London Waterloo should be achievable in under 50 minutes to match times from the town’s regional counterparts, according to the Camberley Society.

Having long campaigned to restore the Sturt Link south of Frimley that once connected Camberley railway station to the mainline, the society has renewed its efforts under the catchline ‘The 50 Minute Campaign’.

Currently, the best time between Camberley and Waterloo is 72 minutes via Ascot, which compares with 43 minutes from Farnborough and 48 minutes from Aldershot.

Surrey County Council is currently conducting a rail review after it was revealed that the 7.32am service from Woking to Waterloo was the second most crowded in the country, bearing 64% more passengers than it is designed for.

It is thought the review, which is being carried out by rail consultants ARUP, will be put out to public consultation later this month ahead of completion in July.

David Powell, the Camberley Society’s lead member for campaigning, said it was time for the focus to shift towards a "progressive pursuit" of its 50-minute goal.

“We’ve got to stop thinking in terms of short term and long term,” he said.

“The lines and rail operators are already working to maximum capacity and it will take major infrastructure work to address this.

“The first step is to look at better timetabling to reduce connection times at Ascot and Ash Vale or restore those services that once used the Hounslow loop.

“If we could get it under 60 minutes, that would be a major achievement. But 50 minutes is achievable, that’s our goal.

"You have to start somewhere and 72 minutes to complete a journey that takes just 43 minutes from a town down the road is unacceptable.

“We have to question how we ever got ourselves into this situation – it’s dreadful.”

Mr Powell added his discussions with ARUP suggested there was data to support a case for Camberley.

“It really sticks out like a sore thumb. Obviously, we would still support a direct link. Even if it was just a shuttle service to Woking, it would be an improvement.

“You also have to wonder what they’ve done with the capacity freed up by relocating the Eurostar services to St Pancras – that was about 10 years ago now.”